As soon as we arrived at the small courtyard in front of the open part of the building, I could see five different people in varying age smashing their hammers down on the anvils, with the small pieces of metal flying away from the metal rods heated to the point of taking a red colour.
Just from the sheer muscles looking like taken out from some kind of culturist before being splashed with a thin layer of oil one could easily guess what trade they were in, even if someone hid all the tools that surround them.
Out of the entire crowd, the oldest man with his beard and hair already grey was standing out with how focused he was on the task. Compared to him, most of the younger coworkers of his couldn't help but smile shyly while a group of young females gazed and their muscles from the corner of the open space.
"Paying respect to the master of this smithy."
With Eve on my side, I stopped right before the ground turned into a wooden floor and bowed slightly. Receiving no response at all, I patiently waited for the oldest of the blacksmiths to finish his hammering and put the already shaped sword in a nearby bail of water. As he took out his thick gloves and placed them on one of the stools in his proximity and turned to face me, I could see a hint of annoyance on his face.
"How can I help you? Do you want to buy something? Or maybe you are interested in learning this profound art of swordmaking?"
I guess those two questions aimed for the most common causes of why people bothered him while he was working. I guess he couldn't expect me to simply wonder over the simplicity of their moves while adoring their dedication to continuous failing in their attempts to hammer their wares properly! Only the old man reached the level where I could acknowledge his products as halfbaked good ones!
"I'm sorry, but I will have to disappoint you. I came here interested to see how fellow blacksmiths work, but I actually have an important question for you, master."
Most of the craftsmen preferred to work in enclosed spaces, where no one would be able to steal their techniques. I can't recall even a single book where alchemist was shown doing their crafts on the city street! Since that was the case, those two things that this master brought up were the main reasons behind him showing off in the first place!
"While I love to craft and create various blades, I met a problem of missing the handles for the blades that I made. Back in the sect where I grew up, we simply used wooden handles reinforced with iron bolts, but I couldn't find even a single one in any of the stalls that we visited in the city. Would you be so kind as to share where could I get my hands on such a thing?"
When speaking to a fellow craftsman, I couldn't help but be honest with the reason for my visit. Just out of sheer respect of years of experience and dedication this man had to reach such a level of proficiency in the craft, I was unable to cast a fog in his eyes while trying to covertly probe him about it.
"You are a blacksmith? With that punny posture? Come on kid, if you want to flaunt, you should pick someone less experienced than me to do so! Unless you want to learn under me or you can prove to me that you are a real smith, stop taking my precious time or I will get my disciples to throw you out!"
Ugh, that was rude! I know that I don't look like a blacksmith with my slender body suited more for lovemaking and sword fighting than actually bringing the hammer down on the raw ore for the entire day, but how could he be so fast in his judgments? With the cultivation common in this world, I could bet that there were some midgets that could flatten this entire town with just a single swipe of their hand! Your look didn't prove your strength at all!
With no other option, I sighed, picked up a single iron ingot from my storage ring and invaded the interior of the smithy. Before anyone could react, the metal already found itself in the crucible with two pieces of coal that I barehandedly fished out from the forge.
"I understand why you don't believe me, so let me show you a fraction of my abilities. This should be enough of a proof, am I right? Or do you want to bet on it as to raise the stakes?"
With how a lot of people treated me in this world, I couldn't help but prepare the stage for yet another faceslap. It's not that I liked to do it, those people were just doing their best to force my hand through their cheeks!
"That won't be necessary. As long as you can craft a blade on par with one made by any of my disciples, I will answer your questions. We, the blacksmiths need to help each other out, no matter when we came from! Only those who realised the beauty of this craft will be able to win my respect!"
What the hell? If you just want to test me, can you not lean your cheek over to me? You know that it's not how cultivation novels go? You should berate me and call others to call me names now!
Seeing that the old man didn't actually try to make fun of me, I picked up the fore tongs and lifted the crucible out of the forge. With how low grade the ingredients were, I simply used my ability to direct my energy inside the container and form a simple, long rod out of the semi-liquid metal.
Devoid of the heat source, the iron within the crucible swiftly hardened, allowing me to put the coiner back into the forge and pick up the heated rod with the pliers instead. Placing it on the anvil, I grabbed one of the hammers nearby and quickly formed a base form of the sword. Before I was able to finish my task, it sadly lost all its plasticity, forcing me to put it back into the coals for a moment, before I was abble to hammer it fully into the correct shape.
Not even bothering to sharpen it, as soon as the numbers of flaws that I could notice reached the number of fifty, I placed it into the water within the barrel nearby and passed the pliers to the local master hands.
"Incredible…"
After taking a look at how perfectly formed the edge was after just a few drops of the hammer, the old man couldn't hold his astonishment. I guess that normal blacksmiths required a lot more time and work to bring the blade to the level of what I could make with just a few minutes!
"I didn't know Sir was such a proficient blacksmith! Forgive me my insolence from before!"
Putting back the edge onto the anvil, local master placed the pliers away and nodded his head in a simple apology. Within the world of craftsmen, it wasn't the age or experience that dictated the seniority, but sheer abilities. Recognising me as someone of better skill than himself, he didn't have any qualms about treating me respectfully.
"Drop the formalities, please. I came here with a question, so there is no need to bother yourself with those useless names."
There was no point in elongating the whole process by forcing this old man to call me sir, elder, senior or whatever. Just from a sheer build of his body, I was able to tell how many
years he sacrificed to follow the way of the blacksmith, earning my respect with just his dedication. As long as he helped me out with the handle matter, I wouldn't mind even paying him for that!
"Ah, that's right. This question was what irked my annoyance back then in the first place."
Swiftly adapting to my request, the old man approached one of the big coffers located in the corner of the open space only to pick up a strange-looking, long bone from it.
"This is Tatri bone. They come from some weak beasts in the forest, but if you heat them up properly, they will turn insanely hard and durable, while making the surface porous, making it the best material for a handle that a decent blacksmith like me can get his hands on. They usually go for one arena coin per five, but I can gift you ten of them just by allowing me to spectate your smithing process. Believe it or not, I learned a lot from it!"
Picking up a handful of the bones, the old man presented them to me on the open hand. But that wouldn't work. I wasn't someone who would accept such a valuable thing just like that! If this man learned something from my little show, then good for him, but that had nothing to do with properly paying for the products that I would like to buy!
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept such a gift. I showcased a bit of my abilities out of my own volition, so I would only earn bad karma if I robbed you out of your resources like that. Allow me to pay you a ten arena coins for fifty of those bones!"
Taking out the cash card with the lowest amount of the coins remaining in it, I passed it down to the blacksmith. While there was a lot more money stored on it, I couldn't be bothered with it. As soon as the first auction will start with my wares on it, the amount of cash that I will earn will be insane. Butting heads over such a small change would only make me look pitiful!
"Excuse me, are you Bart, associated with the Bakari house?"
Just as I was about to receive the handles, someone called me out from the street. Turning around, I saw an unfamiliar face with a mark of Bakari house on his uniform.
"Yes, how can I help you?"
Storing the handles in my ring, I nodded to the blacksmith and approached the courier.
"An urgent message from Venna. You are requested to read it and follow me posthaste!"
Chapter end
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